


In Want of an Heir

by Britishchick



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Dubious Consent, F/M, M/M, This is not a romance between Gwen and Arthur, Threesome, but not really, politics made them do it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 22:57:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4540644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Britishchick/pseuds/Britishchick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>That same night, she finally realized something was wrong with Arthur. Any newly wedded groom should be filled with excitement. He should leave the feast early and spend as much of the night in his bride’s arms as he could. And yet Arthur, Arthur did not seem to be filled with excitement. Arthur seemed to want to delay their departure to the bedchambers for as long as possible. Eventually, they got to their chambers, but all he did was de-robe and slip into bed with a 'goodnight Gwen'. This was not how he should have behaved at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Want of an Heir

**Author's Note:**

  * For [esselena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/esselena/gifts).



> I'm not sure how I felt about this. Oh well, here it is! I do not own Merlin or it's characters. 
> 
> And esselena, this is your gift lol. Sorry about posting it before you beta-d it, but I was getting bored! 
> 
> And finally people, esselena is only on series 3 on Merlin. You need to convince her to carry on watching! She hasn't even met Gwaine yet!!!

Gwen should have noticed. She’d known Arthur her whole life, she should have seen the signs but, alas, she had been too wrapped up in her guilt. Guilt of marrying Arthur when she did not love him. She was fond of him, definitely attracted to him but she did not feel that same spark that she had felt for Lancelot. What she felt for Arthur did not even come close.

She tried to convince herself that those dreams of Lancelot didn't mean anything. That those small bursts of affection for Arthur were something more than affection.  But, unfortunately, love did not work that way. She supposed she would have grown to love him with time but time was one thing she did not have.

Walking down the aisle was one of the hardest walks of her life. People gaped at her as she walked talking about how romantic the wedding was. To them, it was a love story. The daughter of a blacksmith falls in love with a Prince. They marry and have their happily ever after. Little did they know, she was a fraud. 

Gwen knew she should have told Arthur, told him that she didn't love him. But she procrastinated and delayed herself until it was too late. A ring and an announcement made their union unbreakable. Now, she could never tell him.

She wrung her hands together as if she could force herself into loving him just like- just like magic. Magic. She must be desperate if she was thinking about using magic.

She rose her eyes to meet his but there was no smile seen on his face either. Dark blue bags ringed his eyes and his face had an almost pasty quality. He looked just as tired as she was. She attributed it to nerves but she should have realized it was so much more.

That same night, she finally realized something was wrong with Arthur. Any newly wedded groom should be filled with excitement. He should leave the feast early and spend as much of the night in his bride’s arms as he could. And yet Arthur, Arthur did not seem to be filled with excitement. Arthur seemed to want to delay their departure to the bedchambers for as long as possible. Eventually, they got to their chambers, but all he did was de-robe and slip into bed with a 'goodnight Gwen'. This was not how he should have behaved at all. 

The next day, Merlin came in to find them in each other’s arms. He gave them a wicked grin and asked them if they had a nice night. Gwen expected Arthur to give something away, admit that they hadn’t done anything but Arthur just told Merlin it was none of his business and gave him the customary clop round the head.

***

The next few months followed the same pattern. They talked, they laughed, they kissed, they hugged but they never made love and they never talked about the fact that they never made love. Looks and whispers followed Gwen and her very flat stomach everywhere. She knew something needed to be done.

They needed an heir.

***

She made her first real attempt when they were both tipsy after a feast. When they made it back to their bedchambers, instead of just slipping into the bed beside Arthur, she started kissing him. She pushed him against the bed, stripped off her night dress and sat on top of him. He just stared at her with round eyes but did not move. In a desperate attempt to try and get a reaction from him she grabbed his hands and held them against her breasts. That did get a reaction but not a reaction she had hoped for.

He removed his hands from her breasts as if he had been stung. 

"Guinevere," he warned. 

Gwen didn't understand. She couldn't understand why Arthur wasn't reacting. Even if he didn't find her attractive, she was a willing womanly body. But if Arthur didn't find her attractive, Gwen thought, then why did he marry her. 

Seeing her confusion, Arthur gently pushed her from him and sat up.

“This isn’t going to work Guinevere,” he said, meeting her eyes. He then hesitated and quickly mumbled, “girls don’t do it for me, I’m sorry.”

His face was bright red. Gwen couldn't even begin to imagine how embarrassed Arthur must have felt to say that. 

***

The next morning Arthur acted as if nothing had happened. He messed with Merlin, joked with his knights, listened to his people but he did not meet her eyes. It seemed that they needed to talk. 

She sat him down that very evening and decided to blurt out the one secret that she kept close to her heart.

“I’m still in love with Lancelot.”

Arthur let out a spluttered laugh and had looked at her with such relief.

“You don’t love me,” he stated.

She had shook her head even though she knew she didn’t need to confirm his statement. He nodded, smiling, and made to get ready for bed but Gwen held him in place. 

"Why did you marry me?" 

Arthur shut his eyes and sighed. 

"Camelot needs a queen," he said, "I need an heir and my heir needs a mother. I could think of no-one better suited to that role than you." 

He opened his eyes and stroked her cheek. 

"I'm sorry I cannot be the partner you need and I'm sorry I kept my secret from you." 

An apology from Arthur, that was something to savour. She grinned at Arthur and told him so. He laughed in return. And with that, all the previous angst dissipated in that moment. 

“We still need an heir,” she warned. Arthur’s grin faded but he nodded and replied with a ‘we’ll think of something’.

***

One day, Gaius called to meet her. With the calm face of someone who had dealt with many embarrassing situations, he asked if she wanted a test performed on her to see if there could be any circumstances preventing development of a baby. Blushing a furious red, Gwen responded that she and Arthur were working on it and abruptly left the room.

That night she begged Arthur to think of anybody that could make him have a reaction. He swallowed and gave her a jerky nod, closing his eyes. He lovingly stroked her cheek and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He slid one of his hands down her back and pressed her to his firm body. He started kissing down her jawline and exhaled a small ‘Merlin’. His breath was ticklish against her sensitive skin.

Merlin. He was thinking of Merlin. Gwen hid her shock, continuing to work her hands up Arthur's back. 

She supposed it made sense, looking back on their odd relationship. Arthur was always doing everything for Merlin and Merlin was the one who changed Arthur into the man he was today. She had always thought that their friendship was powerful but perhaps it wasn't just the power of friendship that kept it together.  

Arthur continued on as if nothing had happened. Knowing Arthur, he had probably said 'Merlin' quietly against her skin so that she wouldn’t hear it.

Arthur was half hard already, pressed up against her as he was. He moved his hands so that they were around her waist and slid them round so that they cupped her bottom. She couldn’t help it, she let out a little moan and suddenly Arthur’s hands were gone. She shivered at the loss of heat.

Arthur sat down abruptly and put his head in his hands.

“It’s not working,” he groaned, “you’re not him.”

He looked up suddenly, his eyes red rimmed. “Get out,” he exclaimed and Gwen grabbed her nightgown, slipped it on and left him there and made her way to find a guestroom. She needed to do something about the heir, she needed Merlin’s help.

***

The next day, she went off to find Merlin. The court gossip about her being barren and unworthy of Arthur, following her as she went.  

She found him polishing Arthur’s armour. He looked up at her when she came in, greeting her with a smile.

“Gwen,” he exclaimed, “I mean, my Lady,” he said with a teasing grin and inclination of his head.

“Merlin,” she sighed with exasperation, “how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”

Merlin chuckled, “just giving you the respect you deserve. Anyways, what can I help you with, my lady?”

He smirked and Gwen rolled her eyes but quickly put on a more serious expression. “Arthur needs a favour,” she said.

“What kind of favour?” asked Merlin, frowning.

Gwen explained that it was of a more personal nature which had left Merlin even more confused.

“I don’t understand, why wouldn’t he just ask me? And besides what can I do? There aren’t any herbs or potions that can make somebody aroused. Do you know why? It’s not age…” Merlin started rambling, his eyes glazing over as they often did when he was puzzling over something.

Gwen bit her lip, not wanting to say the next bit but knowing she had to. She thought of an heir, giving her the courage to say what she needed to. 

“Merlin,” she said gently, “he needs your help to get aroused. He’s in lo- not attracted to women.” She had almost admitted that Arthur was in love with Merlin, but that wasn’t her secret to tell.

Merlin promptly dropped the vambrace that he was polishing. “I’m sorry, what? He wants me to what?”

“He doesn’t really know about this.” Gwen admitted.

Merlin’s face clouded with fury. Gwen was suddenly struck at how frightening Merlin could be.

“You can’t joke about things like this, Guinevere.” He clenched his hands into fists. 

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could have sworn she saw the weapons and other tidbits in the armoury shaking. There was no wind, so she must have been imagining it. 

“I’m not joking Merlin, you know I would never joke about anything as serious as this.”

Merlin gave her a long stare. He must have seen something in her eyes as his expression softened and he unclenched his hands. He picked up the fallen vambrace and gave it a tender look as if it was Arthur himself.

“That clotpole,” he said with a smile. He then turned and faced Gwen and asked 'what do you want me to do?' Gwen told him and left him with a face of such joy. A look she knew she had sport when she found out that Lancelot loved her in turn. 

The ache of his departure intensified, so she turned all thoughts away from him.

***

During hers and Arthur’s dinner that night, she proposed that they might try again.

“It’s just not going to work, Guinevere.” He said.

”I think I have a solution.” 

Arthur was definitely not going to be happy with her when he found out exactly what this solution was. However, she knew he wouldn’t agree to it if she had revealed exactly what it was. 

Yes, Arthur was probably going to hate her but they needed an heir. 

***

Later that night, as they had agreed to earlier, Merlin helped Arthur undress. This was rare in itself since the wedding but Arthur was not complaining. When Arthur’s breeches were undone and he was naked, Merlin did not grab for his night shift. He grabbed Arthur's head instead and started kissing him with a trembling desperation that made Gwen want to give them the privacy they deserved.  She felt like an intruder in her own chambers. But, she knew she had to stay.

Arthur was catatonic. He did not move a single muscle. Merlin suddenly stopped and removed his hand from Arthur’s head. She could imagine that his face was bright red and he would begin to mumble some poor excuses before fleeing the room.

Gwen was beginning to think she had misheard that mumbled ‘Merlin’ and her heart began to ache for Arthur’s manservant. If she was wrong, then she had destroyed the strongest friendship she knew for the sake of a child.   

But all was not lost. Arthur suddenly grabbed Merlin’s shoulders and pulled him back into a ferocious kiss. The likes of which made Gwen blush right to the roots of her hair.

Arthur pulled back for a breath, “Merlin, I-.” It was at that moment that Gwen let out a shaky sigh. Arthur dropped his hands from Merlin as if he had been burnt and pushed him away. He turned to face Gwen, his face down right furious.

“Do not tell me this was your plan, Guinevere.”

Arthur must have seen it in her face. “You- you got Merlin to- this is- I cannot believe you did this! Why would you do this?” He spat out, spittle flying everywhere. He was so angry that tendons stuck out on his forehead and his pupils were so dilated that his eyes were practically black.

“And you,” he pointed an accusing finger at Merlin who was practically shaking, “why would you agree to this? Do you think this is just another one of your chores?” He started stalking towards Merlin. “Oh, poor Arthur he can’t get aroused enough to have sex with his wife so I’ll just whore myself out to him. I’ll just lay back and think of Camelot. Is that it? I’m right Merlin, aren’t I?” He was now directly in front of Merlin and he jabbed his finger at Merlin’s chest, “aren’t I?”

Throughout Arthur’s tirade Merlin’s facial expressions went from scared to miserable. Now, his expression was indignant bordering on downright infuriated. 

“Do you really think that of me, Arthur? Do you really think I would just whore myself out to you? After all these years, do you really think I would do that? Well, _Sire_ , I think I’ll just see myself out now.”

He turned around and started to stride towards the door.

The situation was not going as well as Gwen had hoped. She had thought that maybe Arthur might have been so overwhelmed that he would not act out but she could see now that she was wrong. She needed to fix this.

“Merlin, stop,” she called, desperately hoping Merlin would calm down enough to remember why he was here.

And to her surprise and delight, he did. He turned back around and faced Arthur again.

“Arthur, I have wanted this for a long time now and when Gwen told me that there was a chance that you may like me back and she needed my help, I couldn’t say no. Arthur, the situation is not one that I would of wanted, probably not what you would have wanted either but it’s the one we have and one we need to have. Let’s make the best of it, shall we?” He gave Arthur a small grin but didn’t move any closer. It was all up to Arthur now.

Arthur took a shaky breath and nodded. Taking a few small steps towards Merlin before grabbing him and kissing him. Merlin guided Arthur to the bed and beckoned Gwen forward. He pushed Arthur back onto the mattress and started kissing his way down Arthur’s jaw, neck and chest stopping at one of Arthur’s nipples probably to suck it. Arthur pulled off Merlin’s shirt and moved his hands to Merlin’s back, letting them roam over Merlin’s lean muscles.

“Wait, Arthur,” Merlin said, “clamber back a bit more, I need room.” Arthur did, without a word and Merlin moved so that he was bracketing Arthur’s torso. He then moved one of his hands to Arthur’s cock stroking it to full hardness and motioned for Gwen to climb on top. Merlin moved to make room and Gwen did.

She had to bite her arm to stop from moaning out loud. Arthur’s cock was long and had quite a big girth.

One of Arthur’s hands clumsily grabbed at Merlin’s breeches and Merlin quickly removed them. Arthur placed one of his hands around Merlin’s cock and Merlin let out a groan.

“Come on, Arthur,” Merlin panted and Arthur began pushing into Gwen with earnest.

“Oh Gods, Merlin,” Arthur moaned, “you’re so beautiful.”

“I love you, Arthur.” Merlin said, before putting a hand to his mouth. It was at that moment that Arthur came.

As soon as he finished, Gwen climbed off Arthur, pulled down her skirts and hastily left their room but not before hearing Arthur ask Merlin if he really loved him.

Once she was outside, she sighed.

“I miss you, Lance.” She said, and her words echoed down the empty corridor.

***

Ten months later, Gwen held in her arms a little tiny boy with tufts of blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Arthur stood beside her, chest puffed out with pride and his arm slung over Merlin’s shoulders. Arthur turned round to smile at Merlin and they shared a loving kiss.

Gwen turned to look at her little darling, her little Lance who gave a hiccup and a gurgled laugh.

The future looked bright.


End file.
